In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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